


Always Watching

by SasuNarufan13



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established slash, Light implied mature content, M/M, Stalking, Suspense, eren's pov, halloween fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 21:10:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21259703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: No matter where he goes, Eren can't shake off the feeling that someone keeps watching him. Only at his boyfriend's house does he feel safe.





	Always Watching

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: Happy Halloween, everyone! This is my Halloween contribution for Attack on Titan :D It's more suspense ish than horrorish, but I still hope you'll enjoy it!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan. Hajime Isayama owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this oneshot!

**Always Watching**

His laughter faded away when the back of his neck started pricking, as if someone was staring at him. He turned his head to check, but saw nothing except for some trees and a toddler running after his ball to catch it.

"Eren? Something wrong?" Armin inquired curiously.

He turned to face him and smiled uncertainly. "Nah, just – thought someone was staring at me, that's all." He shrugged half-heartedly and plucked another cupcake from the box.

"As if anyone wants to look at your stupid arse," Jean snorted, leaning back on his hands.

"Levi likes looking at it actually," Eren shot back, the reminder of his boyfriend making him grin.

Jean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, not really difficult, that, when it's basically at his eye level," he snorted.

"Still going with the height jokes, huh?" Eren said unimpressed. "What, you still sore he laid you out on the ground that one time?"

"He had an unfair advantage!" Jean instantly bristled, narrowing his eyes. "I wasn't ready yet when he tackled me!"

"Just admit he wiped the floor with you," Eren said cheerfully and then Mikasa and Armin had to jump in between them when Jean wanted to lunge at him.

That didn't stop Eren from continuing to rib him, though; the odd sensation of being stared at already forgotten.

* * *

He watched how he turned his head, seeking out the tree line where he'd hidden himself. Those beautiful green eyes – though at this distance they were nothing but dark orbs; his own memory supplying him with the deep forest green colour he'd seen up close before – slid right over him, not focusing on anything in particular.

He knew the other man hadn't seen him. He was too hidden for that and even if he wasn't, the other one was too distracted by his friends to actually take notice.

It didn't matter. Soon he'd have him right where he wanted. He just needed to be patient for a little while longer and then everything would finally fall into place.

_Soon._

* * *

Eren couldn't help himself; he pushed back the curtain slightly and peeked through the gap, studying the empty street intently. Evening had fallen an hour ago and now only the streetlights offered some light, colouring parts of the ground in a faint white. A dark car drove past the house, but didn't stop and the street became quiet once more.

"What are you doing?"

The monotonous voice behind him made him jump slightly and he pulled back hastily, pushing the curtain back in front of the window. He turned his head and saw Levi standing in the middle of the room, holding a steaming mug in each hand, with a frown marring his forehead.

"Oh nothing," Eren laughed nervously and stepped away from the window, running a hand through his hair. "Just looking out of the window for a bit."

"I doubt you could see much given that it's evening," Levi replied dryly, but the frown remained. "What's wrong? You've been acting all jittery this entire time. Did something happen?"

Eren hesitated, unsure whether he should tell the other man. It seemed so stupid, though – especially because he didn't have any real proof. It could easily just be his mind playing tricks on him. He _had_ been watching a lot of horror movies lately – anyone would grow paranoid after binging those.

"Eren, what's wrong?" Levi repeated, his voice gaining a slight edge.

The brunet sighed and sat down on the couch, wrapping both his hands around the mug when the older man gave it to him. "It's stupid," he muttered, pulling up his legs and curling into Levi's side when the man sat down next to him.

"What's stupid?"

"It's just …" Eren wavered, not really wanting to say it, because it made him sound like an idiot, but he also knew after nearly a year of being together that Levi wouldn't give up until he'd got his answer. That tenacity of his was a trait Eren both admired and loathed. "It's probably just my mind playing tricks on me, but lately I feel like – like I'm, I don't know, like I'm being followed. Watched."

He swallowed and grimaced, because yeah, it definitely sounded stupid when he said it aloud. Still, it made his stomach cramp and he tightened his fingers around his mug, casting a quick look outside.

Since he'd spent that day in the park with his friends three weeks ago, he felt like he was being watched. Not all the time, but enough that it made him paranoid as hell to leave his home. Sometimes when he was outside, it felt like eyes were burning a hole straight into his skull, but no matter how quickly he turned around, he could never catch anyone staring at him.

It made him nervous and very uneasy, especially because he didn't know why anyone would be staring at him. Once he felt those eyes on him, though, the ugly sensation was hard to shake off and more than once now he'd literally run into a building just to feel safe.

Like being inside would protect him from whoever was stalk-

"What do you mean, followed?" Levi asked sharply and twisted around, ignoring Eren's sound of protest when he forced him to sit upright and face him. "Is someone bothering you?"

"I don't know," Eren muttered, staring down at the liquid in his mug. Chamomile tea, based on the scent. "Nobody's bothering me, but … Sometimes it just feels like someone is watching me, staring at me, but when I turn around, I never see anyone."

He shrugged uneasily and forced himself to sip from his tea, coughing a bit when it was hotter than he'd expected. "Maybe it's just in my head, though. I've been binge watching horror movies these past few weeks; I guess the plotlines have got into my head." He laughed weakly, too embarrassed to look at Levi.

"Maybe …" Levi said slowly and then Eren's mug was plucked out of his hands and put on the table, next to Levi's. "Do you want me to look into it? Is it always in the same place you feel you're being stared at or does it differ? Does it happen when you're in a crowd or when you're alone? Or both?"

Levi had clearly slipped into his detective persona and Eren pursed his lips. "Are you going to make an official report about this?" he asked apprehensively. He'd rather not take up the precinct's time when he wasn't even sure whether someone was really following him. They had more important cases to deal with.

Grey eyes studied him. "Not if you don't want me to," Levi replied slowly. "Although it would make it easier to send a patrol through your neighbourhood."

"You don't have to; I'm sure you've got more important cases to deal with," Eren said dismissively. Sending a patrol because he thought he was being followed? Yeah, that would make him popular at the precinct.

"If someone's stalking you, that is important," Levi said sharply, glowering.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure whether someone is actually following me or whether I'm just imagining it. I'm not going to waste your time or that of your colleagues of something that might just be my stupid brain playing tricks on me," Eren said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

This was stupid. Why had he even bothered to start about it? He should have known Levi would take it far too seriously. He appreciated the concern, but he would be beyond mortified if he took up the police's time only to find out he'd grown overly paranoid from all those horror films.

Levi looked ready to argue, but then he took a deep breath and looked away, rubbing his fingers over his temples. "Okay, fine, you stubborn brat," he muttered and scowled at the younger man. "I'll leave it be for now, but if you keep feeling like someone's following you, you have to tell me _immediately_. I don't care whether it's just you being too paranoid; it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, fine," Eren gave in, pouting slightly. "Can we forget about this now? I don't want to keep talking about it."

_I just want to spend time with you._

He didn't say it aloud, not wanting to come across as too needy even though he'd been missing the older man fiercely after he'd been pulling so many late shifts this past month, but something in his face must have shown it regardless. Levi's features softened a tad and he opened his arms, allowing Eren to bury into his side again.

"I'm sorry we haven't been able to spend much time together this past month," Levi muttered, brushing a kiss on top of his head.

Wrapping his arm around a very firm waist, Eren sighed and relaxed, breathing in the familiar scent of Levi's favourite cologne and underneath that layer his own natural scent. "It's fine. It's not like you can help it; it's your job."

"I know; I still asked Bushy Brows to lower the back to back shifts this month, though," Levi mumbled and from somewhere next to him, he retrieved the remote. A click on a button and the television screen flickered to life. "He owes me some time off after all that fucking overtime I put in."

"You think he's going to give you some time off?" Eren perked up, already growing excited.

Last time Levi had been granted leave, they'd spent the whole week holed up in a cabin in the mountains. That had been a very fun time – he'd been limping for days afterwards, but the ache had been so damn worth it.

"He will if he knows what's good for him," Levi snorted, switching through channels. He side-eyed Eren meaningfully when he added almost nonchalantly, "Of course if we lived together, we'd see each more often even when I get stuck with the bullshit shifts."

Eren frowned, unsure of how to reply. Levi had been hinting for a while now that he wanted him to move in with him – even outright asking him two months ago – but he hadn't agreed to it yet. It wasn't that he didn't want to live together with Levi, it was just … They were still two months away from their first anniversary – wasn't that too early to already move in with each other? Not to mention he and Armin had only been renting their place for half a year now; he couldn't bail on his best friend now by moving out already. That wouldn't be fair to him.

"Hey, no pressure, all right?" Levi murmured and kissed him. "Just know that the offer stands and you can move in with me whenever you want."

"Yeah, thanks." It wasn't an offer he would take up any time soon, he thought, but it was still nice to have that option.

Nice to know that Levi was considering their relationship serious enough to make the offer.

* * *

"You're sure you don't want to go with us?" Mikasa gazed at him curiously, fussing with the scarf around her neck.

"Nah, I'm fine," Eren smiled, shaking his head. "I'm thinking of making it an early evening anyway; I've been busting my arse on that project all week and I'm tired as hell now."

"Okay, if you're sure." She kissed his cheek and smiled faintly. "Sleep well."

"I'll see you in the morning then, Eren," Armin smiled, shrugging on his jacket. "We'll let the others know."

"Yeah, kick that stupid horse face's butt in pool if you have the chance," Eren grinned, ducking out of Mikasa's way when she went to swat at him.

Armin shook his head, but smiled. "I'll try my best. All right, we're off then."

He saw them off, waving when they drove past him in Mikasa's car and shuffled back inside once the car's taillights were no longer visible. Yawning, he walked back to the kitchen, debating whether he would get a snack or just turn in now.

He would have loved to go out with his friends, but the project had been killing him the entire week and all he could think of was getting into bed and sleeping until late in the morning. Yeah, that sounded terrific if you asked him.

A buzzing noise had him turning away from his inspection of the cupboard and he lifted an eyebrow when he saw Levi had texted him.

**20.36 p.m. Why are criminals so goddamn stupid?**

Eren snorted and leant against the counter, typing back a reply. **Because they're criminals for a reason. What happened?**

**Levi**

**20.41 p.m. Some fucktwit thought we wouldn't be able to link him to a stabbing that happened earlier in the day. Idiot was still splattered in the victim's blood**

Well, at least that guy had made it easy for the police to catch him. As he typed out that reply, movement in the corner of his eye distracted him and he looked up bemused. For a moment he had no idea what he'd seen or where it had come from, but then something moved near the treeline in the garden and he stilled.

He was standing right next to the window which looked out on part of their garden; the garden itself was fenced in on all sides and so nobody should be able to get in here. _Except someone was._

He swallowed and peered out of the window, hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him. No, they weren't. There was someone standing near the trees, he was sure. His heart started beating faster as his eyes traced over the dark form lingering next to the old oak tree. Darkness had already descended more than an hour ago, but he could still distinguish a form between the trees; a form which shouldn't be there at all.

A form which seemed to be looking straight back at him.

"Fuck!" He backed away from the window and rushed to lower the blinds, quickly checking the door to make sure it was locked. Had he locked the front door? _**Fuck, fuck, fuck!**_

He ran to the front door, nearly slipping because of fucking course he was wearing those slippery socks now instead of his house slippers, and sighed relieved when he saw he had. All right, both doors were locked so whoever the creep was couldn't get inside now.

Unless he decided to break a window, shit.

He hurried to flip off every light downstairs, plummeting the lower floor in complete darkness, and used the faint light of his phone's screen to guide himself up the stairs. His skin pricked with uncomfortable heat and his heartbeat was loud, too loud, in his ears, drowning out all other sounds, which was bloody inconvenient when he was trying to listen for any suspicious noise.

Armin's room looked out on the garden and so he made his way there, snatching up his baseball bat from the closet in the meantime. A bat wouldn't do much if that person was armed with a gun, but … It was something.

Cursing his shaky legs, he locked the door to Armin's room behind him, shoving the desk chair underneath it for good measure. His stomach performing several uncomfortable flips, he crept to the window and pulled the curtain away just enough to peek through the gap.

There was some moonlight illuminating the garden, but the milky white beams couldn't reach through the roof of leaves and he clenched his jaw when he realised he had no good sight on whatever moved underneath the trees' cover. It was nothing but pure darkness from here, but he wasn't willing to go downstairs again either and pull up the blinds again.

Nor was he stupid enough to go outside and confront the creep. Jean might delight in calling him a suicidal bastard because of some stunts he'd pulled back when they'd still been children, but he wasn't stupid enough to confront some stranger in the dark. Especially not a stranger who _wasn't supposed to be here at all!_

Maybe the stranger had left? Whoever had been staring at him, they would have to realise there was no way to get inside the house now, right?

He nearly jumped when something moved along the edge of the trees' shadow and he held his breath, staring intently at the spot. Nothing happened for a while and he started to wonder whether he wasn't getting working up about some kind of animal. Maybe he'd just imagined the stranger completely, mistaking some shadows for someone staring at him? It was already pretty dark after all, maybe his mind was simply –

Someone stepped into view, a dark shape facing the kitchen door. They stood there lingering, a large hood hiding their face from sight, as if they were contemplating getting closer or not.

_Holy fuck._

He wasn't imagining this, someone was actually in the garden right now. Staring at the house. Shit.

"Fuck," he whispered and bit down on his tongue to stop himself from yelling when his phone suddenly vibrated in his hand.

**Levi**

**21.36 p.m. You fallen asleep?**

Of course, Levi! Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? He had a goddamn detective as boyfriend, calling him should have been his first reaction when he saw something amiss in his garden!

Berating his own stupidity, he forewent texting and instead hit the call button, keeping an eye on the figure in the garden. They took a couple of steps back, melting back into the shadows. What were they planning? Did they know he was keeping an eye on them? Were they waiting for him to lower his guard and go to sleep?

"So you are still awake."

Levi's voice had him sighing in relief and his fingers tightened around his phone. "Levi, can you come to my house now?" he whispered, as if speaking in a louder voice would alert the stranger to his location. He couldn't bring himself to talk louder, though, panic strangling his voice.

"Eren, what's wrong?" Levi asked sharply, obviously getting the hint that this wasn't just a random social call.

"There's some kind of creep standing in the garden. He was staring right at me when I was in the kitchen," Eren answered, nearly stumbling over the words.

"What? Where are you now? Are the doors locked?" There was the sound of a car door slamming shut, indicating Levi was about to make his way here.

"I'm in Armin's room, keeping an eye on them. I locked both doors, yeah, but can you come over? I don't know what they want, why they're here and – " His breath hitched when something danced along the edge of the tree line again, as if the stranger was taunting him.

"Stay there; I'm on my way," Levi said and abruptly ended the call.

"Thank god," Eren muttered, stuffing his phone in his back pocket. He knew he wasn't completely in the clear yet, because that creep was still there, but he managed to calm down a bit, knowing that Levi was on his way here and would take care of whoever was in the garden right now.

"You're going to be so sorry, dude," he muttered darkly, keeping his eyes fixated on the trees.

* * *

Just a bit under fifteen minutes later, Levi called him again to tell him he'd arrived and Eren rushed downstairs to open the door for him, sighing in relief at the sight of his boyfriend.

"I'm going to check the garden, you stay inside," Levi ordered, grabbing a torch.

As he disappeared into the garden, Eren waited nervously in the kitchen, eyeing the doorknob apprehensively. His bat was resting securely next to him and he slipped his fingers around the smooth, worn wood, gripping the handle tightly. His phone rested on the table in front of him, just in case, and he kept his ears pricked for any sounds of a confrontation.

There was nothing but silence, though, occasionally broken by a car driving past the house or a dog barking somewhere in the distance.

When the door opened, he lifted his bat partly from the floor, ready to swing it if needed, but it was only Levi entering the kitchen again, frowning heavily. He clicked off his torch and closed the door again, leaning against it with his arms crossed.

"I didn't find anyone," he announced. "Checked the entire garden, but whoever was here, fled before I could discover them."

"There was someone here, though, I swear it!" Eren insisted, putting the bat on the table. Grey eyes flicked towards it briefly, but Levi didn't remark on his choice of weapon. "I saw them going up to the middle of the garden before they went back between the trees, so I know I wasn't dreaming it!"

"Eren, I believe you," Levi said; his deep voice soothing. "I know you didn't imagine it. Whichever creep was lurking around here, though, they're gone now. Fucked off to who knows."

"So what do I do now then? You think they'll stay gone?" Eren looked at the window uncertainly.

He didn't even know why they had been lurking around his house in the first place, so who knew whether they would be back? Maybe they'd got scared off when Levi went into the garden and would stay away? That'd be great, but not knowing whether they would had his anxiety growing. What if he went to sleep and the stranger came back? What if they managed to get into the house somehow?

"I have no clue what the hell they were doing here in the first place, so I don't know whether they're gone for good," Levi replied, his frown deepening. "I can take a look around in the morning again, see if they dropped something when they fled. In the meantime, you can spend the night at my place if you want."

Spending the night at Levi's house sounded great actually. At least there he could fall asleep without having to worry about someone possibly breaking in.

He offered the older man a terse smile. "Let me grab my stuff."

Anything was better than spending the night here alone.

* * *

He woke up the next morning with the sensation of fingers caressing his back. They swept along his spine, gliding gently across the knobs, before tracing meaningless patterns across his back, leaving heat behind in their wake. They paused when he stirred and his eyes fluttered open when dry lips kissed his forehead.

"You managed to get some sleep?" Levi's sleepy voice rumbled against his ear.

Holding back a yawn, Eren pulled away slightly so he could look at the other man. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for letting me crash here," he smiled sheepishly.

In the morning light his fear last night seemed so ridiculous now. He was a grown man, yet had started panicking like a little kid at the thought of someone being in the garden. Man, if Jean found out about this, he'd never let him live it down.

"Sure, you know I don't mind you sleeping over," Levi told him. "You're a good enough heater that I manage to fall asleep too."

"Oh, I see how it is now; you're just using me for my body heat," Eren gasped, mock outraged, and laid a hand against his chest. "And here I thought you just liked having me around."

The black haired man smirked. "There are some other benefits to having you around aside from your function as a heater, I admit."

"Oh and what kind of benefits are they?" Eren inquired, raising an eyebrow. The glint growing in steel grey eyes had heat rapidly pooling into his lower belly and he eagerly spread his legs when Levi rolled on top of him.

"Let me show you some," Levi smirked before catching his mouth in a deep kiss.

Then Eren knew nothing but devious lips stealing his breath and fingers skilfully manipulating him until his brain had turned into mush and he was left babbling non-sensical words into Levi's shoulder while he trembled and gasped, spilling between them; pleasure turning his limbs into jelly.

* * *

"You feeling up to going back to your house? Or do you want to stay here for a while?" Levi asked a bit later once they'd got cleaned up and were eating breakfast.

The toast tasted like ashes suddenly in his mouth when Eren remembered what was waiting for him at home. Grimacing, he placed the rest of his toast back on his plate, no longer in the mood for it.

"I guess I should go back," he sighed, reluctant to actually do so.

Here at Levi's place he didn't need to worry about any creeps lurking around in the garden, but he couldn't stay here indefinitely. Armin was probably already wondering why he wasn't home when he said he would be. He'd left a note behind of course, one that just stated he'd be spending the night at Levi's, but he knew Armin would have questions about that. It wasn't like him to just up and leave for his boyfriend's place without a specific reason after all.

He wasn't looking forward to having that particular conversation.

"I'll take a look around," Levi promised. "Maybe I'll find something now that it's day."

"Yeah, maybe," Eren smiled weakly, stuffing the last part of his toast in his mouth.

He wasn't sure whether he wanted something to be found.

* * *

Levi didn't end up finding anything outside. Not even possible footprints, because an unexpected bout of rain in the middle of the night had wiped out any possible traces left behind by the creep.

"Call me if you notice something weird again, okay?" Levi murmured as he retrieved his car key from his pocket.

Highly aware of Armin's heavy gaze resting on the back of his head, Eren nodded. "I will. Though I hope I won't have to call you for that," he grimaced.

"Let's hope not," Levi said sombrely and they shared a quick kiss, Levi squeezing his hips gently, before the older man slipped out of the house and got back into his car, driving away to start his shift at work.

"Sooooo, going to tell me what's that all about?" Armin asked curiously when Eren closed the door. "And why you suddenly decided to spend the night at Levi's place? You're lucky I could hide the note before Mikasa saw it. You know she'd have gone straight over to interrogate you two."

Eren pulled a face. Rubbing the back of his head, he muttered, "So, I might have seen someone in the garden last night and called Levi? But the person was gone and I didn't want to stay on my own here, so I spent the night at his house instead."

"Someone was in the garden?" Armin asked alarmed; his blue eyes widening to the size of saucers.

The brunet nodded stiffly. "Yeah, someone was lurking nearby the trees. But the rain removed all the possible tracks."

The blond worried his lower lip between his teeth. "You think this person will be back?" he asked concerned, wrapping his arms around him.

"I don't know. Let's hope not," Eren mumbled and brushed past him on his way to the kitchen. "You want some tea."

"Sure," Armin agreed absentmindedly, following him. "Should we tell Mikasa?"

Eren gave him a scathing look. "You want her to hover around us all the damn time? Because that's what's going to happen if you tell her!"

"Not really, but maybe she can keep an eye out too?" Armin suggested hesitatingly. "She's got a black belt after all."

He shook his head and busied himself with filling the kettle with water. "Yeah, I know, but for now let's just not mention it." When he saw Armin opening his mouth to protest, he held up his hand in the air. "Look, if that creep shows up again, then we can warn her, but for now, there's no point. Maybe this was just this one time. There's no need to make her worry."

He kept quiet about all the previous times he'd felt he'd been watched. Mentioning that definitely wouldn't help his case in keeping this from Mikasa. If she knew, she'd freak out and Eren would never be left alone then. Levi wouldn't need to send a patrol then – Mikasa would do that job perfectly fine on her own.

Armin sighed, looking put out, but he nodded. "Fine. But if it happens again, we're telling her. You know she'll be pissed off if she finds out we've kept this from her."

"Yeah, I know," Eren said sourly. He didn't need her overprotectiveness, though. Levi already knew about this weirdo; that should be enough.

In dire need of a topic change, he turned to face Armin and grinned. "So, how was last night? You made horse face cry like a baby?"

Armin rolled his eyes, a bit exasperated, but nonetheless gave in and started talking about the game of pool and how frustrated Jean had become after losing again and again.

The mental image of that had Eren snickering and as they settled around the table with their tea, it was easy to forget how unnerved he'd been last night. Easy to forget how less than twelve hours ago, he'd been freaking out in this exact same spot because he'd seen someone lurking outside.

During a lull in their conversation, his eyes flitted to the window, taking a quick look outside. He saw nothing but part of the trees; some leaves breaking off and twirling to the ground. No creeper; nobody lurking within the shadows to stare back at him.

He forced himself to relax and turned his attention back to Armin, who was talking about Annie possible stopping by for a visit in the near future.

Everything was fine. Just fine.

* * *

Everything wasn't fine. Far from it even.

Ever since he'd caught someone lurking in the garden, the sensation of being watched had grown tenfold. No matter where he went, whether he was surrounded by friends or not – those piercing eyes followed him everywhere. They burnt into the back of his head, searing holes into him. Yet he never caught anyone staring when he looked around.

He tried to catch the person by glancing in windows he'd passed, even used the camera on his phone, pretending to take a selfie in the hopes of photographing whoever was stalking him – because this was definitely stalking now, this couldn't be anything else but stalking at this point – but the person was as elusive as a ghost. No, not as a ghost – because at least with a ghost, he might have a shot at capturing its image.

This person was like the wind – he could feel their eyes, yet couldn't see them, no matter how fast he turned out, no matter which trick he tried to find out who was following him.

He found himself walking through the streets with hunched shoulders, fast paced, as if that would throw off his stalker. It never did. The eyes were always there, never getting closer – not yet – but never leaving either.

Even inside he felt no longer safe. He was surrounded by people at his workplace, people he knew, yet even there he could feel the heavy gaze on him. His co-workers started questioning him about his frequent glances outside the window, became concerned about how he was getting easier and easier distracted, needing to redo projects because his wavering concentration had him making stupid mistakes.

He waved away their concern, assured them it was only a lack of sleep causing him to be so ditzy all of a sudden, and accepted the helpful tips to get more sleep with a grateful smile.

In a way he supposed he wasn't really lying about his lack of sleep. His nights had become restless, him turning in bed for hours on end, listening with pricked ears and a loudly thumping heart for any noises that indicated something was off. He went around at night checking all the doors and all the windows, making sure they were all properly locked, the blinds lowered completely.

Yet he still felt watched. Even at home he couldn't feel at ease anymore.

He had just one safe haven left: Levi's house. Perhaps his stalker knew Levi worked with the police or the garden was too well fenced for the creep to try to get into it to lurk. Whichever it was, when Eren was at Levi's place, he didn't feel the eyes on him, didn't feel like he was slowly being hunted down.

With Levi he felt safe, at ease. Levi's house was like a fortress, keeping everything out that shouldn't be here.

It was the only place where he could completely relax, feel safe in his boyfriend's arms.

He found himself spending more and more time here, even when Levi was still working, because even when alone in the large house, he felt guarded, protected from whatever was lurking out there. Whatever it was about Levi's house that kept the stalker away, Eren was grateful for it.

It made him start wondering whether he shouldn't accept Levi's offer of moving in after all.

* * *

He was close. Soon he'd have him right where he wanted him. It wouldn't take much longer, maybe a week, two at most. And then …

A smirk lingering across his lips, he watched Eren hasten to get into the little coffee tent he liked to visit on Fridays. The young man cast a nervous look behind him and then disappeared into the building, fleeing from what was hunting him down.

Humming to himself, he disappeared into the shadows of the alley for now.

_Soon …_

* * *

The muted sound of rain hitting his window woke him up and he groaned tiredly, rubbing the heels of his palms in his eyes. He was tired as hell and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and get more sleep, but he couldn't. He needed to finish his project and send it through within the next six hours. His boss had graciously extended his deadline – mostly because Eren had looked like utter shit when he had to go to his office – but with how much he still had left to do, he would need to use every second he had to finish it.

"Fuck my life," he muttered and sat up, briskly running his hands through his hair.

It was all that fucking bastard's fault. Whoever the creep was, he'd been stalking him for three months already and it was starting to take its toll on him. Soon, something would have to give before he would completely lose it. He was worried what that something would be, however. This couldn't go on like this, though. He couldn't keep looking over his shoulders for the rest of his life, avoiding dark alleys and empty streets, hurrying to every destination, freaking out whether this would be the day the stalker went a step further.

Not for the first time he wondered just what the fuck that creep wanted from him.

"Don't think about it," he whispered to himself, clenching his jaw. He wouldn't think about people stalking him or creeps lurking in the garden. He would get up, get ready and bust his arse off to finish his project on time. That was what he was going to do; nothing else.

"All right," he muttered and swung his legs out of bed; hissing when the cold air greeted his bare feet.

Bending down to grab his slippers, he froze when he saw them.

Muddy footprints leading through his room and stopping right in front of his bed.

_As if someone had been watching him sleep._

He'd been inside the house. In his room. Watching him sleep.

He'd got through the locked door without alerting any of the sleeping occupants inside. Had gone all the way up to Eren's room without any detours – as if he'd known where Eren slept. And he'd stood there for god knew how long.

And then he'd disappeared again without doing anything else. But he'd done enough: he said what he'd wanted to say. He could get to Eren whenever he wanted and no locked door would hold him. Eren's last form of defence in his own house wasn't enough to keep him out.

How many times had he been inside the house before? How many times had he walked around, stood staring at Eren without him knowing about it?

_He was no longer safe in his own house._

* * *

Everything had fallen into place.

Now he just needed to wait.

* * *

"I know it's not exactly how you wanted it to happen, but is it wrong of me to say that I'm happy you're living with me now?" Levi said softly; his thumb rubbing soothing circles across the back of Eren's hand.

Eren turned around and nestled closer against Levi, listening to his heart, feeling his chest expand and deflate with every breath he took. "Not wrong," he sighed, wriggling his hand underneath Levi's sweater, feeling stomach muscles briefly clench against his touch. "I'm happy too," he said after a pause.

Happy because he was living officially with his boyfriend now. Relieved because he could no longer feel eyes following him around. Not even outside. When he went out now, he could do so without feeling like he was being hunted down. He was finally left alone.

After three months, the terror had finally ended; vanishing just as quickly as it had appeared.

He closed his eyes when lips descended against his forehead and pressed a soft kiss there. "Don't worry, you're safe here with me," Levi murmured; his arms tightening around Eren.

Eren smiled and tilted his head up to kiss him. "I know."

Here, in Levi's arms, in his – no, _their_ – house, he was safe. The only eyes staring at him here were the piercing, metal grey ones he loved so much. Those were the only eyes he didn't mind following him.

He was finally safe.

* * *

A smile turned into a satisfied smirk.

_Got you._

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> AN2: So yes, perhaps not really that scary or creepy, but nevertheless I hope you liked reading it!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> I hope to see you all back in my future stories!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


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